Apostolate February 10
Our apostolate, moreover, can be fruitful only when there is vital contact and collaboration with the leaders of the local Church (Const. 22.5).
It takes a man and a woman to conceive. It takes two feet to walk. It takes two sticks to kindle a fire. It takes a pen and ink to write. Everywhere in human experience, there are examples of the need for collaboration. It is the same with the mission of the Body of Christ, with the ministry of the Church. There are a multitude of personal, community and institutional charisms that should be combined so that the work of Christ gets done well in the world. That does not mean that there is no friction. It is often friction that creates the heat that heals, the light that illuminates. It is like that in the traditional relationship between religious and the hierarchy of the Church. The Bishops are like the upper jaw—fixed—and the religious are like the lower jaw—mobile. It takes the two to chew. It is useful to have the interaction of these two charisms, the one more fixed to stabilize, the other more mobile to go beyond limited horizons. This creative tension promotes good digestion of the Word of God in the world.
The jaw doesn’t eat if the feet don’t set off. (Bakusu)
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